In December 09 I had to have the lower ball joints on my 03 F150 replaced to pass inspection. Lately I’ve had a rough ride, and slight loss of control after a bump in the road. I just took the truck to a shop for an alignment and whatever else it needs, and they tell me one of the ball joints is very worn, other side still looks great.
Is it possible that I just got one good and one bad ball joint and the original shop did an acceptable job, or should I be talking to them about getting some money back? Unfortunately the original shop is in Baltimore MD, and I’m back home in Houston TX now. I didn’t drive much in Baltimore (about 2000 miles in 6 months) but the roads there are pretty rough. The trip home was about 1700 miles pulling a trailer, and I’ve pulled a few other cars on tow bars since I came home.
I wouldn’t usually worry about it, but at $250 for something I just did, it makes me suspicious.
I would agree that things sound suspicious. I would get a second opinion on the ball joint, or just do it. Insist on a lifetime guarantee parts warranty (Moog and some other brands provide this), so that if the part wears out you pay only labor in the future. Obtaining lifetime warranted suspension parts is one of my normal practices, and seems to work well.
sounds to me like whoever did the replacement only lubed one of the joints.